Another Chance
by Ze Grammar Nazi
Summary: Takes place 1000 years after the Last Battle. What if the battles continues? Zach and John must find out the hard way. OCs accepted. Science Fiction because of some futuristic content.
1. Chapter 1

**Second Chance**

Chapter 1

Zach was in an alleyway now, and he was at a dead end. He turned around and saw his enemies, approaching ever so closely to him. Once he was within reach, the mamodo grabbed Zach by the collar and threw him hard, back against the cement wall with a powerful throw. Zach hit the wall hard and cried in agony when his body fell onto the cold, hard floor. He then heard them coming closer, the two of them, the mamodo and his book-owner.

"Pathetic." he said before he grabbed Zach by the neck and lifted him from the ground. "I don't even need to waste a spell on you." he said before he tossed Zach into a pile of trash.

Zach again hit the lump of trash hard, before he slowly attempted to stand back up.

"Zero, I'm getting bored, let's end this." the mamodo's book-owner called to him.

The mamodo smiled at his owner. "Patience my dear friend." The mamodo slowly went over towards Zach. "We're just playing around. Right Zach?" The mamodo kicked Zach in the stomach as he gave a painful groan and fell over again, crying in agony. Zero then went over to Zach's fallen body and bent over so he could crouch down to talk to his opponent.

"What a waste of time you've been." he said before he slammed his fist down onto Zach's back. "I'm ashamed to call you my brother!" he said once more before grabbing Zach and tossing him towards the cement wall again. Zach once again cried in agony as he was hit hard against the wall. Zach slowly raised his hand towards Zero and his partner.

"Please Zero… Don't do this…" he said in a weak voice.

Zero smiled maliciously at his brother. "I can't believe even you can drop this low." Zero once again picked up Zach and was about to kick him again, when his partner suddenly turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Zero called to him.

Without turning his head, he replied to him. "Going to do something more productive, instead of wasting my time with this junk." He placed his spellbook inside his jacket and slowly began to walk away with his hands in his pockets.

"Hmph." Zero said to himself. He dropped Zach back down onto the ground. "You got lucky this time, but don't expect anything from me the next time we meet, Zach." Zero too turned around and started to walk away, following his partner.

Zach on the other hand, just sat on the hard floor, and started to weep silently to himself.

"Mom… Dad…" he silently called out before going unconscious.

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><p><strong>Hi there, this is the author speaking... eh... more like writing. Anyways, just thought I'd add this author's note in case anyone would be interested in submitting an OC (you're choice of a mamodo with a human partner). I'm not sure how this story's going to turn out, but anyways, I do hope for the best. Well, for those that are enjoying reading this so far, I hope you continue to enjoy!<strong>

**-Grammar Nazi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again, I just thought I'd throw this in, I was browsing the Zatch Bell! section for my fanfic when I saw a fic made by gabredi (Mamodo Battles!) which has a very similar ground concept as this story. I'm sorry, I had no idea that I was using your idea, the idea of another battle 1000 years later came up in my head and I had no idea that you already had a fic about it. Please don't think of this fic as if it was based on a stolen concept... Thank you.**

**-Grammar Nazi**

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

"Hey Johnny Boy! Betcha' won't be able to finish the public speaking assignment for class next week!" the school bullies yelled and laughed as Johnathan Maples slowly walked away from school towards home.

"He can't finish anything 'cause he can't talk! Am I right or what?" another one of the bullies yelled over and laughed as John brushed aside the insult and continued walking away. "No wonder he's afraid to talk to us, he's a downsider!" The gang laughed loudly at this remark as John tried harder to ignore the bullies.

"What a bunch of loser." John said silently out loud to himself. "It's not that at all…" he silently thought to himself.

It was true that he was a downsider. Although every human being on the planet Earth was able to enjoy the renewed air, the clean water or the nice weathers, there was still a strict division between rich and poor, even more so than a thousand years ago during the 2000s. Humanity had been able to stopped Global Warming, but not poverty.

John started his long walk home again, because as he knew, it would take a while to get back home from the upsider's part of town.

"Stupid walk… It would be nice if mom and I could live here…" Johnathan thought as he strolled past open stores, very fancy houses and even very clean looking people. Because he was wearing his school uniform, he didn't stick out like a sore thumb in this crowd. Downsiders with dirty clothes always tended to stick out in upsider crowds and were always frowned upon by the upper class people.

Johnathan slowly began to walk across the border street which divided the upsider's part of town with the downsider's part. Things were very noticeably different. The nice and clean buildings all seemed to end exactly at that border point. Beyond it were more destitute-like metallic buildings, which were evidently in need of repair. There were no checkpoints or guards at the street, because everyone had the right of passage, but when crossing the border, the atmosphere instantly felt different. The cheerfully happy scent was instantly erased with the dreadful mood of hatred and anger. John slowly pressed onwards through the street and carefully made his way home, in order to avoid the recent thug gang that formed and harassed the people in the district. He was slowly making his way home when he was stopped by a group of men.

"Hey you, you look like a guy from the upside. Hand over your cash." The men then pulled out their bats and clubs and moved closer to John, as he slowly backed away.

"Hey now, I don't want any trouble…" John said in his shy and timid voice.

The man at the front smiled at him. "Well trouble found you. Get him boys!" he called out before rushing John.

John made a run for it into a series of alleyways connecting the majority of the downsider's district. He continued down the alleys as he heard the thugs' yells behind him a couple of feet away. He then quickly turned the corner and jumped into a heap of garbage and buried himself underneath it. He heard the thugs pass by and gave a sigh of relief as he came out of the stinking trash.

"Aw man, my mom's going to ki-" John froze as he saw a badly beaten-up boy, lying against the cement wall at the end of the short alleyway. He went closer to him and knelt next to him. "Hey, are you alright?" John asked. He got no answer. Without hesitating, he picked up the light red-haired boy from the floor and planned to go to his house as soon as possible. He was about to leave when he heard a small 'thud' behind him. He turned around to see a red book behind him with dust spreading in all directions away from it, indicating that it had just fallen. The book had a strange hourglass marking to it with circles at each intersection where the lines met. Still curious, he picked up the book and took it with him back to his house.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Johnathan quickly opened the door to his small one-storey house and placed the injured boy on the dining table. The boy had severe head injuries and blood was dripping his head.

"Welcome back Jonathan, how was sch-" His mother froze as she turned around from the kitchen (which was connected to the dining room) and saw her son with the wounded boy.

"Quick mom, I need the medical box." John said hesitantly.

His mother gave him a frown. "You know that stuff's expensive dear. It wo-"

"I don't have the time mom! Give it now!" John said, anger clearly present in his voice.

John's mother quickly, but hesitantly, handed over the medical supplies to her son. John quickly opened the box, but still failed to find the materials he needed; he was going to have to improvise.

"Mom, give me a bottle of alcohol."

His mother again gave him a frowning look. "I can understand some medical treatment for this poor boy but why on earth would you-"

"Now mom!" he yelled.

His mother quickly went over to the fridge and took out their only bottle of the liquor.

"This is perfect." John said as he took the bottle from his mother. He slowly poured a tiny bit of the alcohol onto the blood wound to disinfect it, and then gently, but snuggly, wrapped it around with a large bandage. He also noticed wounds near the stomach area, but didn't have enough of the bandage left.

"Mom, I need more bandage." He said calmly.

His mother gave him a sad look. "I'm sorry honey, the ones in the medical box are the only ones we have left."

John's stubborn look didn't falter. "Then give me something soft, but clean, a clothing that we have." He said.

His mother shook her head. "I'm sorry sweetie, I can't be absolutely sure that any of our clothes are spotless. This is downside after all…"

John hesitated for an idea, but then quickly thought of one. He took off his school blazer and dress shirt and torn off a portion of his dress shirt to wrap around the boy's body, which shocked his mother.

"Jonathan! You can't just do that to your uniform!"

"It's alright mom, my blazer will cover it up." John placed his blazer back on. "See?"

His mother still gave him a disapproving look.

"This little guy needs it more mom." He said silently as he finished the last of the wrapping.

His mother still had her disapproving look on her face.

"Well, now that he's alright, you better throw him out of this house immediately."

John turned around to face his mother. "And what, let the thugs beat the daylights out of him again? I don't think so."

John and his mother held their poses for some time before his mother spoke again.

"Fine then, if you're going to keep him, he's sharing his share of the food with you, and sleeping either on the floor or your mattress, got it?"

John simply smiled at his mother. "I couldn't have said it any better myself mom."

"Hmph." His mother turned away from him. "Don't be so kind to strangers John." She resumed her cooking. "You won't last very long if you're this kind to everyone." His mother finished.

John closed the medical box and placed it back on the shelf. He then picked up the boy carried him into his room, where he then placed him on top of his mattress. He then knelt down him and covered him with a blanket.

"It's going to be alright kiddo... I know how you're feeling…"

John silently placed his bag in the corner of his small room and placed the mysterious book beside the mattress next to the boy. He then left the room quietly as to not wake the boy he found on the street, just less than twenty minutes ago.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"_Pathetic." he said before he grabbed Zach by the neck and lifted him from the ground. "I don't even need to waste a spell on you." he said before he tossed Zach into a pile of trash._

_Zach again hit the lump of trash hard, before he slowly attempted to stand back up._

"_What a waste of time you've been." he said before he slammed his fist down onto Zach's back. "I'm ashamed to call you my brother!"_

"_Please Zero… Don't do this…" Zach said in a weak voice._

_Zero smiled maliciously at his brother. "I can't believe even you can drop this low." Zero once again picked up Zach and was about to kick him again…_

. . .

"Ah!" Zach woke from his nightmare, sitting upright on the mattress he was on, breathing heavily. After regaining focus, he slowly studied the room he was in, the bed he was on, and the blanket covering him. He surveyed the room one last time, but there was nothing to survey at all. It was a very small, dark room with a door leading somewhere. But from the corner of his eyes, Zach noticed a small, bright reflection coming from somewhere on the wall. He couldn't see it very clearly, but he knew something, perhaps expensive, was hanging from the wall. He then felt the bandage on his head, and a piece of clothing wrapped around his stomach, and knew that someone had been taking care of him.

"He's expensive John! Kick him out!" Zach heard a woman yell from outside the room.

"I told you, he's not going to cost anything! I even agreed to share my portion of food." Zach heard a young man's voice now.

"Still! He's bound to be trouble, I'm telling you to let him go John!" Zach tried to get out of the bed, but the pain in his stomach area wouldn't allow him to move. "He probably has a mother and father as well, and I bet they're looking for him too."

There was a brief pause in the conversation.

"Alright… if he has family, I'll take him to them as soon as he's feeling better." The young man said.

Zach saw the door open and a figure come inside. He couldn't clearly make out the figure, but it looked like the silhouette of a young teenager.

"Hey, you're awake!" he said as he turned on the light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Zach couldn't at first adjust to the light, but slowly his vision shifted to the brightness of the room. He saw the young man kneel down in front of him so that he was face to face with him.

"Who… who are you?" Zach asked.

The young teen smiled at him. "My name's Jonathan Maples, could you tell me yours?" he asked.

Zach at first didn't know how to respond, but seeing the smile on this man's face, he automatically assumed that he was the one responsible for the hospitality he was given.

"…My n-name is…" Zach started to stutter. "…Zach…" he finished.

The man smiled at him again.

"Hi Zach." John said. "You're still hurt so you have to stay in bed, but do you want something to eat or drink?"

Zach hadn't noticed it until now, but he was very hungry. All of the sudden, his stomach made a growling sound, which made his face also as red as his hair.

Again, the teen, who was apparently John, smiled, or rather laughed at him. "Let me get you something to eat, hold on."

John was about to take off when Zach grabbed his hand. John turned around and saw that the little boy, Zach, was pulling his arm.

"…Please don't go…" Zach begged.

John turned around and bent down one more time. "I'll be right back buddy." And with that he silently left the room.

The light bulb illuminated the room and Zach could see a lot more clearly now. He noticed a poster on the wall, which read, "Worker's Union Party, Fighting for the Poor!" and another one next to it which read, "Downside, The Engine of New York" with a picture of a busy, yet crammed city, which he guessed to be the downside district. Zach also saw a small desk right at the foot of the mattress, but that was all there was to the room, mainly due to its small size. But the one thing in particular that he noticed out of everything else was the silver whistle that was hanging by a string from a nail in the wall. It was a very beautiful whistle, and Zach couldn't ignore it whatever he tried to do.

Again, the door opened, and Zach saw John come in with a small loaf of bread and a glass of water, which looked somewhat dirty; but still drinkable.

"Here, eat this." John said while holding out the loaf of bread.

Zach, without thinking, grabbed the loaf and started to munch down on it very quickly. Soon after, he grabbed the glass of water and drank it in a blink of an eye. He was breathing heavily afterwards, but had left John astonished.

"Wow, you sure do like to eat." John commented. "You even managed to eat my share!" John said in a humorous tone.

Zach face turned red with embarrassment. "…I'm sorry, I was really hungry." Zach said while scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, no worries, it's fine." John said as he took a seat on the mattress next to Zach.

"So Zach, I bet your mom and dad are worried sick about you."

Zach slowly lowered his head. John noticed this and was left confused.

"Hey, what's wrong? I'll take to straight to them; can you tell me what street you're from?" John asked.

Zach lowered his head even further so that his face wasn't visible.

"…I…" he started.

John stopped to listen.

"…I'm… alone, here." he finished.

John, still confused, wanted to ask Zach what the matter was.

"…Could it possibly be because you don't have a family?" John asked him.

Zach wanted to explain the entire situation to him, about the mamodos battling for the crown, but he was afraid that this generous man wouldn't believe him.

"…I know how you're feeling Zach." John said.

Zach slowly raised his head to listen to John; revealing Zach's teary face.

"…There was once a time when I was badly beaten up and left alone on the streets to die." John explained.

Zach opened his eyes wide, and saw that John had started to cry too.

"I felt like no one cared if I died or not, and this happened in the upside part of the city, so my mom wasn't able to find me." he explained.

John lowered his head slightly, looking at the part of the floor where the ground and the wall met.

"I cried for help, but no one heard me." John continued. "I thought I was going to die, but then suddenly, a man came up to me and took me to his house."

Zach leaned in closer to listen.

"He bandaged me, feed me, and even went as far as to dine with me."

John then lifted his head and looked at the ceiling where the wall and the top of the roof met.

"I was so thankful, and I didn't know how to thank him, but he had a kind heart. Before I left, he gave me that whistle." John pointed at the beautiful, silver crafted whistle on the wall. "And he told me to use the whistle whenever I was in trouble, and that it would help."

Zach lowered his head again, and started to silently cry all over again. John also felt a tear coming out of the corner of his eye, and wiped it away quickly. Zach too, had slowly began to cry, but not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness and gratitude. Zach tried to wipe away the tears with his arm, but was unable to.

What neither of them noticed was the opening at the door, intentionally opened by John's mother. She had been eavesdropping on their conversation, and she too, was touched by the story. She closed the door to their room, but was stunned after the door made a big creaking noise.

John was the first to react to the noise. "Hey mom? Is that you?" John asked.

"…_Oh well… I guess I'm busted now."_ John's mother thought. After a brief moment of silence, his mother finally spoke. "He can stay with us John." she concluded.

Even though she couldn't see him right now, she could tell that her son was smiling.

"But he's your responsibility, you hear me?" she told her son.

"You know it mom!" John called back.

His mother, then left the two of them alone, walking away with a smile on her face.

John then turned to his new roommate, who had his head lowered.

"I guess you're staying with us for a while then huh?" John said.

"Hey… John?" he asked while keeping his head down.

"Huh? What's wrong Zach?"

"Could you… come a little closer?" Zach asked.

Although John was still a little bit confused, he did so anyways. As soon as Zach was in reach of John, Zach wrapped his arms around him, which surprised John.

"Thank you… so much…" Zach said as a tear fell from his eye.

John smiled and placed his hand on his head. "Anytime Zach."

After a few moments, something mysterious had happened; something that was beside the mattress and glowing brightly, very brightly…


	5. Chapter 5

**And we're back!**

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><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

"Huh?" John said out loud as he averted his gaze towards the glowing red book. Zach on the other hand however, was terrified at the situation. He didn't want John to have to fight, especially when the fight wasn't his.

"What's this?" John reached over to pick up the book, which was right next to him.

"Wait-!" Zach yelled before he gave out a sharp gasp of pain as he tried to move his body to stop John from touching the book.

"Zach? Are you alright?" John said as he turned his attention back on him. Zach however, stubbornly continued to try to reach for the book. He was almost within arm's reach of the book when…

"Is this your book Zach?" John asked as he picked up the glowing red book, while Zach did a comical face-forward fall.

"I wonder why it's glowing…" John asked himself as he flipped through the pages. "Wow! I never seen characters like these befor-"

"No!" Zach yelled as he snatched the book away from John and hugged it tightly to himself, making the glow disappear.

John was confused by the entire situation, but Zach knew that he had to one day or another tell John about his past, and where he came from, but he was afraid that John would think of him differently if he did. But Zach figured it was time to tell John the truth about where he was from.

"John… I have to tell you something… something very important." Zach started.

John, now feeling that he was about to get answers to some of his questions, waited patiently for Zach to continue.

"But if I tell you the truth about me, promise me that you won't think of me any differently." Zach asked.

John smiled and placed his hand over his heart. "Of course Zach."

Zach took one last breath in and out and decided to start from the very beginning…

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><p><strong>Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm still finalizing my idea for the overall story so I need a little more time. But thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. Seriously, you guys rock.<strong>

**P.S. For the people that have sent me your OCs, please don't worry, they will be featured... soon. :)  
>If you don't mind me saying, the OC descriptions were very well written, my hat goes off to all of you. :D <strong>

**-Grammar Nazi**


	6. Chapter 6

**And... we're back!**

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><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

"It all starts in the Mamodo world." Zach started. "…Before you ask any questions, I'm going to tell you that I'm not human like you are John." Zach said in a timid voice.

John was a little astonished by this, but he kept quiet.

"I'm… I'm a mamodo, and I come from the mamodo world. It's not just me though; other mamodo children have also decided to come to this world." Zach took a short break to reorganize his thoughts. "We were sent here to accomplish a particular goal, the goal of becoming the king of our world."

John was starting to get the idea now, but the idea itself was still hard to believe as well.

"I know this all sounds crazy now, but it'll all be clearer as the battle progresses." Zach continued.

"Battle? What battle?" John asked.

Zach was hesitant in asking John the question.

"I…I'm grateful to you John. And the last thing I'd want to do is cause you pain or needless suffering when you least deserve it."

"What do you mean Zach?" John asked, only this time, more hesitantly.

Zach lowered his head. "All of the mamodo children that were sent here… they fight to claim the throne, even if it means taking the life of a once old friend." Zach continued.

John was shocked at the information, but he still wasn't clear on one thing. "But how does this concern me though?" John asked.

Zach kept his head down. "In order for us mamodo to cast spells and unleash our true powers against each other, we need human partners to read our spells… from our spell books."

John took a look at the book Zach was holding and figured it to be the spell book.

"So… all of those words in the book, they're spells?" John asked.

Zach nodded his head slightly.

John thought for a moment before asking another question.

"But then, what happens if you lose the spell book? Or the spell book gets destroyed?"

Zach snuggled himself even tighter.

"If anything bad happens to that spell book… I disappear."

John opened his eyes wide.

"They do this once every thousand years, to decide a new king. But this time, the qualifying rules are a little different." Zach decided to pause for a moment before moving on. "Normally, you were forced to fight against your will if you were chosen to be among the hundred mamodos that were sent here, whether you wanted to or not. But now that my da- I mean, King Bell is the new king, the participants now have to volunteer themselves, and hope to get chosen to be among the hundred candidates." Zach sneered at the last sentence. "It was a stupid choice. He told me- I mean, he told all his citizens that he wanted to eventually end all of the fighting, but look where that's got us into now."

Zach tried his best to stand up on the bed, and somehow managed. "If I become King, no, when I become King, I plan to put an end to all of this pointless fighting for good." Zach lowered his head slightly. "If the King of our world was a benevolent king, maybe we wouldn't have to fight each other anymore…" Zach lowered his head completely, so that his face wasn't visible.

John, who had been listening this entire time, also had his head slightly tilted downwards. For a moment, the entire room was quiet, until John broke the silence.

"Zach," he started, "in order for you to fight to claim the throne, you need an owner for your book, don't you?" John asked.

Without looking, Zach nodded his head.

"Zach, give me the book." John suddenly said as he extended his arm.

Zach gave a John a slightly astonished look.

"But John, you'll most definitely get hurt or even get seriously inj-"

"It's for the best, isn't it?" John asked. "And besides, you're doing this for a righteous cause."

John quickly snatched back the spell book, which made Zach raise his head, and looked him right in the eyes.

"I promise Zach," John paused for a moment. "I promise that I will do absolutely everything in my power to help you accomplish that noble goal of yours."

Zach gave John a hard look.

"It's not going to be easy." Zach warned him. "There are mamodo that are much tougher than me, and we're always going to be in constant danger."

John simply smiled without directly looking at him.

"I found you on the streets just over three hours ago." John started. "I promised my mom I'd take care of you." John paused for a moment. "And that's what I'm going to do."

Zach, with his head tilted downwards, smiled back at him.

"I hope you can live up to that promise of yours, because I don't want to be the one taking care of you, John." Zach said in a friendly tone.

John smiled back at him while lifting his head.

"Alright! So, how do you read this thing?" John asked obliviously as he flipped opened the spell book and started flipping pages.

"Umm..." Zach said as a comical sweat dropped from his head. "Now's not the best time John..."

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><p><strong>And there we go, that concludes the introduction chapters...<strong>

**Thank you everyone for your OCs, I'll make sure to use them well as the story progresses. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**And... we're back! Thank you Shiori and Shiroi for allwoing me to use your OCs, they will be used in this chapter.**

**For everyone who has submitted their OCs... *gets down on both knees* PLEASE! Do not feel offended if I haven't used them yet!**

**I swear, all of them were extremely well written with a lot of effort and I assure you, they will not go to waste!**

**And with that, please enjoy the next chapter!**

**P.S. The next upload date will be at latest September 6th, 11:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time).**

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><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

Takumi Mizuhara took one last look at the antique shop. He then took a small breath in and out before approaching it.

"Another day, another dime…" he said quietly to himself as he pulled out the shop key and approached the door. He turned the knob to open the door and found the shop employer already inside, cleaning some of the antiques on the shelves.

"Good morning Mr. Doyle." Takumi said as he went to the corner of the shop to get his work clothes.

The employer smiled at his employee. "Good morning to you as well, Takumi." He stopped cleaning to turn in his direction. "We've got an order today, Takumi. A customer wants to buy the old potteries near the back of the room."

Takumi froze as he was putting on his work apron. "B-But, aren't those worth a fortune?" he asked.

The shop owner, again, smiled at him.

"And a fortune we'll get for it of course!" he said in his cheery old voice. "Now, we have a lot of dusting to do before she gets here." Mr. Doyle said as he passed a duster to Takumi. "I'd suggest you get something to cover your head, or you're going to have dust all over it."

Takumi felt his short black hair with his hands, and shook his head.

"I'll be alright Mr. Doyle, I need to take a shower after work anyways." he said before he made his way over to the back of the shop.

"Now remember," Mr. Doyle said as Takumi was walking away. "She's an upsider, so we need to put double the effort in."

Takumi gave a simple nod without looking and headed towards the back room.

. . .

"So, Zach." John started. "What was King Bell like?"

Zach and John were talking as they were making their way over to John's middle school.

Zach took a moment before replying. "He's my dad." he said plainly.

John smiled at him. "I kind of figured, since you almost told me last night, remember?"

Zach thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I guess I did." he said.

Zach reached into the back of his mantle (cloak) pouch to pull something out.

"What are you trying to get Zach?" John asked him as Zach finally pulled out something small from his back pouch.

"Here." Zach said as he handed him a 'photograph' of a family.

"Oh, hey a photograph!" John said excitedly.

"It's a picture of my family." Zach said. "The two adults behind me are my parents, and the other adult standing next to my dad is Uncle Zeon."

"I see." John said as he took out his wallet. "Here's my family."

John handed Zach a small photograph of himself and his family.

"Wow! Neat!" Zach said as he took the picture.

John looked at the picture he had been given by Zach and examined it carefully. He noticed an average-sized, blonde haired man, with a small crown-like headwear and a robe, standing next to a red haired woman, who also had similar clothing. The colour of the woman's hair and eyes were identical to Zach's hair and eye colour, and the man (who John figured to be Zach's father) had facial features that looked very similar to Zach's face. He also saw a similar looking man with white hair wearing a white mantle, standing next to Zach's father, with dark purple eyes looking straight at the camera. John would've thought him as evil, if it wasn't for his smile and his hands resting on Zach's, and another boy's shoulder. Finally, he saw Zach himself (in his usual blue mantle with a white brooch (ribbon) in the middle), standing very joyfully next to an equally disheartening looking boy, who looked similar to Zach; but different. He could tell at first sight from his dark black hair and malicious looking eyes.

"Wow John!" Zach said cheerfully. "You're family looks really happy." Zach said as he and John exchanged back their pictures. "Hey John, who was the little boy on your shoulders in the picture?" Zach asked.

John stood still where he was, and for a moment, his head was tilted downwards.

"He was… my younger brother, Kyle." John managed to say, with a slight bit of hesitation in his voice.

"Kyle?" Zach said in confusion. "Where is he now?"

John managed to force out a smile.

"He's watching us, from up there." John said as he pointed towards the sky. "In a world where there is justice, peace and equality."

Zach was puzzled for a moment, until he realized what John really meant.

"Ah!" Zach said as he started to panic. "I'm really sorry John!" he blurted out in a childish voice.

"Hey, hey." John said as he tried to calm down his friend. "No worries, I had to tell you sooner or later about him. Now let's continue walking, or we'll be late for my school."

John started to walk ahead in front of Zach, but stopped after realizing that he wasn't following him. He turned around, only to find Zach with his head hung low, standing still.

"It's alright Zach." John said in a friendly voice, which didn't really seem to help. He tried to find an alternate method to raise Zach's spirits, and cleverly thought of one.

"Hey Zach," John started as a smile crept up on his face. "You told me that you liked to eat yellowtail right? How about we go get some to eat after school?" John suggested.

Zach, almost instantly, raised his head with a smile on his face.

"Yeah!" he said as he ran towards John and crept up onto his shoulders. "Let's go eat yellowtail!" he said as he pointed forward.

"Hey, hey," John said as he tried to calm him down. "after school though, alright?"

Zach nodded his head happily.

"_He's so energetic…"_ John thought. _"It's amazing how fast he recovered from yesterday's wounds in only a day, what an interesting kid…"_

Both of them slowly made their way over to the border street and finally on to John's school.

. . .

"Thank you! Please come again!" Mr. Doyle said as the hover-car drove off with the old antiques. He then pulled out the envelope to count the money he had been given.

"Hm… 21,450 dollars, just like she said." Mr. Doyle said as he placed the money back in the envelope. But before he did, he took out nine 50-dollar bills and handed it Takumi.

"Here, take this as a little… bonus for today." Mr. Doyle said as he left Takumi in awe.

"T-Thank you so much Mr. Doyle!" he said as he gratefully accepted the money.

Mr. Doyle then turned to head back to the shop.

"It's almost half past three now, and we don't get customers this late in the day. Since you did such a good job on cleaning those antiques, I'm going to let you go early today Takumi." Mr. Doyle said without looking. "I'll still pay you the same as if you were here till twelve today."

Takumi was overjoyed by the break he was given. "T-Thank you so much!" Takumi said again as he gave him a small bow before running back into the shop to change back into his usual clothes.

"That kid…" Mr. Doyle said as a smile crept up on his face. "He's such a good boy…"

Mr. Doyle's smile slowly started to fade away. "If only he had a family to care for him."

Mr. Doyle stood still with his head down as Takumi rushed out the door. He stopped in front of Mr. Doyle with a confused look.

"What's wrong Mr. Doyle?" Takumi asked.

Mr. Doyle raised his head. "Oh, it's nothing. Now go have fun, or do whatever seventeen-year olds do nowadays." Mr. Doyle said as he slowly walked into the shop.

"Alright then! Take care Mr. Doyle!" Takumi yelled as he ran towards the direction of the upside district.

. . .

"Alright Zach." John said as he glanced at the menu. "I only have about 15 dollars with me, so we have to economize-"

"Waiter!" Zach yelled happily while waving his hand. "One large yellowtail please!"

"As you wish sir." the waiter at the other side of the restaurant said as he went back into the kitchen. John's sweat dropped while the people near them were staring at them.

"_Hehe…"_ John laughed silently as he hid his face behind his menu book. _"One yellowtail shouldn't be that much…"_ John took a closer at the menu.

"34 dollars and 99 cents!" John said out loud, which attracted even more attention to the pair. "I mean, only 35 dollars? Eh he…" John said as he silently whispered the last part. The people around him then started to ignore him again, which made John give out a sigh of relief.

"_Ah crap…"_ John silently said to himself. _"I'm so screwed…"_

As the waiter returned with yellowtail fish, Zach's face gave a huge grin.

"Wow! This looks delicious!" Zach said as he grabbed the yellowtail fish entirely and started eating it.

"Holy…" John said as he watched in amazement. _"If he really is a mamodo, he sure can eat…"_ John silently thought to himself as Zach finished eating the yellowtail.

"Waiter!" Zach yelled as he stood on the table. "One more yellowtail please!"

"Coming right up sir!" the waiter yelled back to him, while almost everyone in the restaurant was staring at the boy now.

"_Why me?"_ John thought miserably as he slapped his hands on his own face.

. . .

Takumi was walking down the streets of the upside district, just trying to find something to do.

"Ah, I finally get a break from work. What a nice feeling…" Takumi said to himself as he placed his hands on the back of his head. He slowly lowered his head however, as the smile on his face slowly disappeared.

"Mom… dad… I'll make you both proud someday…"

Takumi was walking casually down the street, until he heard someone shouting at someone else.

"Why can't you give me free food!" he heard a girl yell.

Takumi looked over in the direction of the shouting and saw a girl (with long, soft-blue hair and shades), in a white mini-dress, shouting at a much older man in a chef's uniform.

"I told you, as the manager of this restaurant, I say that this restaurant is for paying customers only!" the man shouted back at her.

The girl lowered her head and started to tense up.

"I told you already…" the girl said, anger building inside of her. "That you should have pity for a girl like me!" she shouted at him again.

The manager laughed at her. "Look who's talking? You're the one wearing expensive looking white boots with white gloves! Not to mention the robe and those silly looking transparent wings of yours. You're a filthy rich upsider! Why should I have pity for you?"

The girl tightly gripped her fist, while Takumi slowly made his way over to the two. But as he did so, something behind the girl's robe started to glow a very bright, light blue…

* * *

><p><strong>There was actually one grammar mistake in this chapter :O (as far as I proof-read)<strong>

**I thought it'd be fun to do something like this once in a while, so if you can spot it, you win:**

**One virtual high-five! :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Answer: "<span>You're<span> family looks really happy."**

**Correct Grammar: "Your family looks really happy."**

**BINGO! You got it Shiori and Shiroi! One virtual high five for you!**

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><p><strong>If there was another grammar mistake that I didn't catch, <span>please<span> let me know so I can constantly improve my grammar. Thanks. :)**

**-Grammar Nazi**


	8. Chapter 8

**I wonder if I'm late... :(**

**Sorry about that. This chapter might have (maybe) an error or two. Again, sorry if this feels a little rushed or... well... different...**

**But hey, I hope you enjoy! :)**

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><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

"Hey, let's calm down now…" Takumi said as he slowly approached the two arguing pair.

Both the girl and the manager turned around to see Takumi approach them. The girl however, noticed the glow coming from her book, and took it out instantly. She then turned her attention to the approaching young man and quickly handed him the book.

"Here, try to read this." she said as she handed the book over to Takumi, who looked utterly confused.

"Ugh, don't bother!" the manager roared. "The writing in that book is utter gibberish! If you two kids are trying to pull off a prank, go do it someplace else!" he yelled angrily as he pointed away from the restaurant.

Takumi, however, flipped opened the book and found the page from where the main glow was coming from.

"What's this?" he asked. "How come I can read this part and not the others? And what's with the strange language?" he asked again.

"Just read the glowing part!" the girl ordered him as she pointed her palms in the direction of the restaurant.

As curiosity got the better of him, Takumi started to read the glowing line, "The first spell…" he read out. "_Funsairu_." he said as a wave of water was unleashed from the girl's palms and onto the restaurant, destroying the front entrance. Both Takumi and the manager were flabbergasted, but the girl simply smiled and turned around to greet her new partner.

"Hi, my name's Nymph." she said as she smiled, while the manager behind her scram and ran for cover behind the rubble. "I want to teach this dork a lesson, so you better help me!" she suddenly yelled, as Takumi slowly fell backwards onto the floor.

"W-w-what… What happened?" he asked, stuttering.

The girl smiled at him. "I'll explain later, but in the meantime, read that line once more!" she ordered.

. . .

There was a loud crashing noise near the entrance.

"…What was that?" John asked out loud as some people near the noise started to scream and panic.

"Hm?" Zach said as he was finishing his fifth yellowtail. "Yeah, what was that?" Zach asked out loud, before the idea struck him. "No… it can't be…" Zach said as he grabbed John's arm.

"Hey, what are you-"

"John! We have to get away from these innocent people!" Zach said as he pulled him out of his seat and onto his feet. "Did you bring the book with you to school today?" Zach asked.

"Huh?" John asked before the thought struck him. "Oh yeah, it's right here." John said as he pulled out the red spell book from his backpack.

"Good, we have to lure them outside so that one no will get hurt." Zach said as he ran towards the debris clouds.

"Stay close John!" Zach yelled.

"I'm right behind ya'!" John yelled back as he chased after his partner.

. . .

"What are you doing! Read that line again!" Nymph yelled.

Takumi dropped the book and started to inch backwards; while still on the floor.

"No… that book just caused that much destruction… I… can't do it again." Takumi said as he stared at the debris and the debris cloud.

"Don't play dumb and read that line again!" she screamed. "I need to make the owner pay for what he said and did!"

"That's enough!"

Nymph turned to her right and found a small boy staring directly at her with angry eyes. "You leave those people alone!" he screamed at her again.

Nymph smiled at the boy. "Well, well if it isn't Prince Zach himself. To whom must I give the honours too?" she mocked.

Zach's look didn't falter.

"You leave the people inside that building out of this!" he yelled at her.

Nymph smiled again. "Or what?" she asked mockingly.

Her smile began to fade as she saw a man slowly come from the debris behind Zach, with a spell book in his hand.

"John, I want you to read the line that I showed you last night! But remember to read it with strong emotion!" Zach told his partner without turning back.

"_I hope this works…"_ John thought as he flipped through the pages of his book; as the book itself slowly started to glow. _"Alright…"_ John thought in his head. _"Strong emotions…"_

John paused to think for a moment. _"I hate this society, I hate this division, and I hate the people who made this separation!"_

The glow from the book suddenly intensified.

"The first spell, _Zakeru_!" he yelled as a strong bolt of lightning shot out of Zach's mouth and sped towards the girl. She was hit directly, and as a result, she flew backwards and skidded down the road.

John, who was observing the scene, watched in awe as Zach performed his spell. As soon as Zach regained his consciousness, he looked back to his partner.

"Like I told you, right?" he asked him with a smile, while John just stood still; frozen in both amazement and shock at the same time.

Meanwhile, the girl who was attacked slowly stood back up and looked angrier than before. She turned around and headed towards her partner and grabbed him by the collar.

"Listen… you…" she started as Takumi became terrified. "It would it in your best interest to help me…" she said in an angry tone as she gripped his collar even tighter. "Because if you don't…" she said. "If you don't…"

Takumi was terrified of the girl, until he saw a small teardrop fall from her eyes. Shortly after, more tears started to fall from her eyes, before she wiped them away with her arm.

"Please… help me…" she pleaded. "…I have no one else to turn to…"

Takumi's once terrified expression, disappeared as the girl started to cry while she stagnantly clung on to his collars. She eventually dropped to her knees and continued crying from there, while still managing to hang on to his collar. Takumi, now feeling empathic for the girl, stood up as the glow from the book suddenly got brighter. Nymph also stood up with Takumi, and looked up at his face. He then gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"All I have to do is read the glowing line right?" he asked.

Nymph simply nodded her head.

Takumi removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Alright then… I'll help you… under one condition."

Nymph stood patiently as she waited to hear Takumi's condition.

"I don't know what the heck you did to that restaurant, but I don't want any innocent people to get hurt by us from now on, alright?" he asked as he extended his hand.

Nymph smiled a thankful smile, and shook his hand.

"Now, since I don't know what to do, make sure to guide me." Takumi said as he directed his attention back to John and Zach.

"He's coming for us John! Get ready!" Zach yelled.

"Hurry! Open the book!" Nymph yelled.

Takumi flipped opened the strange blue book and turned to the page where the glow was the brightest.

"Hey, I couldn't read this page before." Takumi thought out loud.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Nymph said as she extended her hands towards Zach and John. "Read that one, and hurry!"

Takumi was filled with the desire to help this girl, and because of that (without him realizing), the book began to glow even brighter.

"The second spell! _Furasairu_!" he yelled, as three waves of water were shot very rapidly from Nymph's palms.

John was caught off guard for a moment. He then began to think hastily. _"We can't dodge this attack at this rate…"_

"John!" Zach yelled. "Get behind me, now!"

"Are you crazy!" John yelled back at him. "You'll get hit dead-on by those shots!" he yelled as the waves were approaching them ever so quickly.

Zach however, jumped in front of John, who was shielding the book, and expanded his mantle to block the attack. After the smoke cleared, John opened his eyes again to find that no one was hurt. John was stunned, but relieved that the attack had been blocked.

"Quick John, again!" Zach yelled. "Read the spell!"

John, without hesitation, flipped opened the book again to the page of the coloured text.

"_Zakeru_!" he yelled as another bolt of lightning flew towards Takumi and Nymph. They were both hit directly and flew further backwards along the sidewalk. Luckily however, their book hadn't been hit.

"We can't win at this rate." Nymph admitted to her partner. "Don't lose the book, we have to fall back for now."

"S-sounds good to me." Takumi said; a little startled from the attack. "Follow me!"

Takumi started to run in the opposite direction of Zach and John, and Nymph followed closely after him.

"Hey wait!" John yelled. "We're not done!"

Nymph turned her head while she was running. "We'll catch you later!" she said as she made a rude face and stuck out her tongue.

"Why I'll get that…" John said as anger started to rise in his voice. Zach however, placed his hands out in front of John so that he wouldn't chase after the two.

"It's alright John." Zach said calmly. "She always makes fun of people, not to mention argue with them."

John gave a strange look to his partner. "Wait, you know that girl?" he asked him.

"Of course I do!" he told him. "Her name's Nymph. She always acts that nasty towards other people. But really, she's really a nice person."

Just as Zach finished his sentence, a person came out from behind the rubble of the restaurant entrance; looking terrified.

"Oh," John started. "you must be the manager. My name's-"

"D-D-D-Did you chase away those p-people?" the manager asked, stuttering.

John thought for a moment, and then gave an astonished look. "Well, I guess we did…"

"My hero!" the manager said as he came up and kneeled before John. "You saved me and my restaurant from that wicked girl!" he said while crying.

John looked down at Zach, who was apparently smiling.

"Well of course he did!" Zach said while placing his hands on the back of his head. "After all, he's the one and only John Maples!"

Other people then came out from the restaurant to witness the scene.

"My hero!" the manager said again before taking John's hand. "Kind sir, what can I ever do to repay you?" he asked.

John again, gave a strange face as Zach's face began to grin even wider than before.

"More yellowtail!" he yelled in joy.

John slapped his hand on back of Zach's head to straighten him out.

"Hehe…" John said as his face turned red. "What he meant was-"

"More yellowtail it is then!" the manager said as he turned to the opposite direction and started to head in the direction of the chef.

"Well, what are you waiting for? It is the least we can do for our heroes who defeated the bad fellows who caused this destruction!" the manager said as he mentioned the rubble. The uninformed people watching the scene, clapped and cheered for the apparent hero, John.

Zach laughed joyfully and waved at the crowd while John's sweat dropped. He too however, smiled and waved at the crowd before heading back to the restaurant with Zach.

"_What a strange feeling."_ John thought as he headed back into the restaurant. "_I feel… joyful_."

John took a look at Zach, who had dashed on ahead into the restaurant. The crowd was praising him as Zach cheerfully smiled. John looked at the scene and he too, smiled.

"_You truly are a hero Zach."_ John thought to himself. _"For protecting those innocent people from any harm."_

Then a thought struck him.

"_Well… at least I don't have to pay for those yellowtails anymore…"_ John thought, as he gave a sigh of relief before heading back in.

. . .

"Ah!" the mamodo shouted before he flew across the alley and slammed into a brick wall. The other mamodo with the malicious eyes then approached him and his book owner.

"I'm getting bored Zero." the owner of the malicious-eyed mamodo's book said. "Let's end this."

Zero extended his hand towards the enemy holding the book.

"Remember not to overdo it this time Alex." Zero reminded him.

The book owner gave an evil smiled. "ZAKERU!" he yelled as a strong bolt of lightning flew out of the mamodo's hand and towards the other book owner. He was hit directly and screamed before he was nearly electrocuted to death.

"No!" the injured mamodo cried before he slowly disappeared.

"ZAKERU!" he yelled again as another bolt of lightning flew towards the book. The book was hit again, which made it burn even faster. The mamodo cried one last time before he eventually disappeared.

"That was hardly a challenge." Zero said as he withdrew his hand. "How many books did we burn today Alex?"

The owner took out a small electronic notepad and tallied one more score. "That's our fourth today." he said. "Who would've known that there would be so many mamodos in North America."

His mamodo partner maliciously smiled at him.

"But we are far from done Alex." Zero said before he turned around and started to walk away.

"Hmph." Alex said before he too, turned around and started to walk away with Zero, leaving behind the man who was still unconscious.

"Where do you want to go next Zero?" Alex asked his partner as they slowly walked.

Zero smiled at him. "Patience my friend. Everything will fall into place soon enough."


	9. Chapter 9

**And we're back!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

* * *

><p>"Whew." John sighed as he carried Zach on his back. "You sure can eat."<p>

"Uunnn." Zach said drowsily.

The cool night breeze passed them, giving John the pleasant feeling of a good day spent. John turned his head and saw Zach's relaxed, yet comforted face with his eyes closed. Zach gave a small yawn before returning to his former relaxed, yet contented face.

"All that eating and that battle today must've tired you out." John commented again, but this time with no response.

"Hey Zach?"

John turned his head again and found his little friend gently sleeping as he rested his head on John's shoulder. John laughed silently in his head.

"_What an interesting kid…"_

A few moments later, they passed the border street and finally made their way home.

**. . . The Next Morning . . .**

"Zoey! Come down and eat your breakfast!" Zoey's father shouted to her daughter upstairs.

"I'm coming dad!" she yelled back.

Zoey had just finished changing into her everyday clothing and was just about to go to the washroom to brush her hair. She brushed back her blonde hair with her hands and opened the doors to the washroom. That was when she noticed her best friend, Haru, inside; combing his own hair.

She coughed quietly a couple of times to get his attention, and Haru turned his head towards her immediately. He smiled at her before passing her to go out the door.

"Good morning Zoey." he greeted with a smile before heading downstairs.

Zoey sighed tiredly as she went into the bathroom. "Morning" and "School" were the two most tiresome words to her. Just thinking about either of the two gave her headache.

She picked up the brush and slowly began to brush back her blonde hair, being every so careful of the smallest details. Whether it was a single piece of hair or strands of hair sticking out, she always noticed them. She had a special set of bright purple eyes. It was a very rare thing to have, the violet coloured eyes.

She dressed into her usual everyday clothing, a light-pink shirt with a same coloured skirt, looking spotless (as always). Even her golden necklace that her father gave to her as a birthday present looked elegant.

"Zoey!" her father exclaimed again. "Hurry up and come downstairs!"

"I'm coming dad!" she yelled as she quickly stroked her hair one last time before leaving the bathroom.

. . .

"It sure is a nice day today." John remarked as he and Zach were on their way to school.

Zach on the other hand, stayed silent with a somewhat distressed look on his face. John however, noticed this immediately.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked him.

Zach raised his head to face him.

"Well, I was really bored yesterday when I had to wait for you to finish school. I went to the playground across the street like you told me too, but it was a really long wait…"

Zach crossed his arms but kept the same expression on his face.

"It'd be nice if I could come to school with you." Zach remarked.

John suddenly stopped, with the blood from his face drained. Just the thought of Zach coming to school and seeing his classmates bully him scared John. Zach had a worried look on his face.

"John? Are you alright? You look pale."

John quickly snapped back to his senses. "Me? Of course I'm fine!" John remarked with an over-happy tone. "Will it be better if you stay outside of the school entrance then?"

Zach looked at John with cheerful eyes. "Yeah!"

. . .

"Maybe this wasn't the best idea…" Zach thought to himself as he waited outside the school entrance. "Now I'm stuck here with no one to play with."

"Watch who you look at next time punk!"

Zach heard the shout coming from the main-gate entrance of the school.

"I can look at whoever I want, who are you, her boyfriend?"

Zach turned his head in the direction of the argument and saw three students facing one guy. The students all had their usual uniforms on, but the guy who they were facing had plain blue jeans, and a dark blue jacket with the number '5' written on each shoulder.

"Watch it bud! Or I'm going to have to rough you up," the casually dressed young man said.

The three looked at each other and laughed amongst themselves.

"Who the hell does this guy think he is? What was your name again, Huron, Harto…"

"It's Haru you dumbsh-"

One of the students punched him across the face. After seeing that, Zach rushed over and stood in front of Haru with his arms stretched out.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice!" Zach yelled at them.

The three, once again looked at each other and laughed, only this time, much louder. They continued laughing until one of them eventually stopped and bent over to face Zach.

"Listen kid, we're going to let you and your friend there off easy since you just made our day. But you better not get in our way next time."

He stood up, then took off with his friends, disappearing behind a corner while laughing. When they were finally gone, Zach turned around. He was met with a fist clinging onto his collar and lifting him up.

"You little punk! You-"

Haru stopped dead in his tracks. The person he was lifting with a clenched fist was a mamodo, more specifically, Prince Zach.

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><p><strong>I'll most likely update next during the winter holidays... After school of course.<strong>

**Until then bye!**


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